Happy Birthday

Turning 53 today: the man who ended up as Depeche Mode’s predominant songwriter as much by default as anything, due to the departure of Vince Clarke from the band’s ranks in the wake of the release of their debut album, Speak and Spell. Fortunately, Martin Gore proved himself up to the task: it’s been 34 years since then, and the band continues to fight the good fight even now.

If it wasn’t for today’s birthday boy, we wouldn’t have one of the funniest Seinfeld episodes of all time, because if Don Henley had never been born, then we wouldn’t have “Desperado” or “Witchy Woman.” Of course, we understand that we actually wouldn’t have a lot of songs in that instance. It’s just that we really think that episode of Seinfeld is hysterical.

Turning 69 today: a woman whose lovely voice started to become a radio staple in the late 1960s when she was part of the Stone Poneys, ruled the airwaves throughout the ‘70s and early ‘80s, and from there began to explore big band standards, Spanish songs, and…well, basically, there aren’t many musical genres that Linda Ronstadt didn’t try her hand at during the course of her career. At present, it appears that her battles with Parkinson’s disease will keep her from further recording, but there’s certainly an amazing back catalog of material out there for her fans to enjoy for years to come.

Today marks the 70th birthday of an extremely talented musician and a very troubled man, but given the site on which you’re reading this piece, you will hopefully not be surprised that we prefer to focus on the remarkable amount of work he’s done over the years as a drummer and a pianist rather than the fact that…well, look, just read this and you’ll know what we’re desperately not talking about.

Gordon was raised in California and was on track to attend UCLA on a music scholarship, but he opted to take a pass on it in favor of actually making music, and given that the music he was making was for The Everly Brothers, it’s hard to say that he made the wrong decision, especially since it soon led him to play with numerous other classic artists. Perhaps you’ve heard of a little album called Pet Sounds? Yep, he’s on there. George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass? Yessir, and John Lennon’s Imagine, too.

Turning 56 today: the man who’s been behind the drum kit for Spandau Ballet since the band first began and – in case you missed the memo – is still sitting there even now. Well, maybe not right at this precise moment, but if he’s gotten up for a restroom break, rest assured that he won’t be gone long: the band has shows in Cornwall, Westonbirth, and Henley on Thames this very week!

Born in Hampstead, London in 1959, John Leslie Keeble was there at the very beginning of Spandau Ballet’s career, stuck it out through all the hits, including “True,” “Gold,” “Only if You Leave,” and “Through the Barricades,” just to name a few, and kept at it all the way through 1990, when the band’s Heart Like a Sky album seemingly impressed neither fans nor critics. (It’s actually not bad at all, but you know how it goes: times change and so do tastes in music.) When frontman Tony Hadley embarked on a solo career, Keeble signed on to play in his band, showing a level of dedication to Hadley both in that capacity as well as when Hadley and fellow member Steve Norman filed a lawsuit against Gary Kemp seeking additional songwriting royalties.

Turning 67 years old today: the only member of Deep Purple to have remained within the band's ranks since the very beginning…and given how many members have passed through Deep Purple over the years, that's a major testament to the man's dedication to the band he helped found way back in 1968.

Turning 53 today: the one-time Jesus and Mary Chain drummer who set aside his sticks, stepped out from behind the kit, and soon found his own success as the frontman for Primal Scream.

Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1962, Robert Bernard Andrew Gillespie – his friends call him Bobby – was living the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle even before he joined up with the Reid brothers, having been a roadie for Altered Images and, after that, playing bass for the band The Wake, but his future had probably been set into motion years earlier, when his schoolmate Alan McGee, later to found Creation Records, took him to see his first rock concert. When you’ve seen a performance by Thin Lizzy in your formative years, it’s hard not to end up playing rock ‘n’ roll.

Hitting the big 8-7 today is one of the founding members of the Four Seasons and a man who shares his name with Joe Pesci’s character in Goodfellas, and although we’re assured that the name thing is completely coincidental, we have to admit that we find it funny.

Turning 66 today: Frank Beard, the member of ZZ Top who, at least when they were at the height of their mainstream success in the 1980s, was easily – and ironically – identifiable as the member who didn’t have a beard.

Born in Frankston, Texas in 1949, Frank Lee Beard was no stranger to rock ‘n’ roll when he joined up with Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill to form ZZ Top at the tail end of 1969, but it’s fair to say that his stints as a member of American Blues, The Warlocks, The Hustlers, and The Cellar Dwellars in no way clued him in to the sort of success he was destined to experience.

Turning 53 years old today: the man who’s been sitting quietly behind the keyboards for Duran Duran since they first formed wayyyyyyy back in 1978. Yes, that’s right, we’re talking about Nick Rhodes, so be sure to save a happy birthday for him now…and don’t save ‘til the morning after, ‘cause that won’t be his birthday anymore, so what would be the point, really?

Born in Moseley, England in 1962, Nicholas James Bates, as he was then known, couldn’t really complain a great deal when he was growing up: not only did his parents have money, but they got that money from owning a toy shop. Seriously, does it get any better than that when you’re a kid? Nick first crossed paths with future bandmate John Taylor when the two attended Woodrush High School together in Birmingham, where they formed their first band together: RAF. By the time he was 16, Nick had left school, started Duran Duran with Taylor on lead guitar, Simon Colley on bass, and Stephen Duffy on vocals, and taken a new last name from a brand of keyboard.